A Life Deferred
by D3ANwasH3R3
Summary: Katie's life was simple. Was it perfect, exciting, no, but it was safe. She had one dream and one day a door opens for her that could lead to that dream. Unfortunately that door could also take her to places she had long left behind. Follow Katie as one simple article and a strange club owner threaten to change her life in ways she never imagined. Take a look, you might like it.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Where did this story come from? I don't know, but it was there and I just had to write it. For those who are avid followers of mine, you will recognize my OC, Katie who has blossomed into this really interesting character I just want to test out in different verses. This was an on the fly thing and I'll keep at it if people like this first chapter. Updates will probably be a little sporadic since I'm working on another story of mine, but I am a people pleaser, so if you want more of this, then let me know. **

* * *

Morning's sucked. There was no particular reason really. Just a bunch of little reasons. In Katie's case it was a mixture of her loud neighbors and her lack of sleep due to her inability to stop watching every last episode of Heroes on Netflix. But at the moment, the cause of her sucky morning was the annoying nagging of her alarm clock bitching at her to get up. She was fully prepared to just lie there until her cat decided to jump up on her head.

"Seriously" Katie moaned finally opening her eyes and looking up to the cat. "I'm up, are you happy?" With one last deep breath, she tossed the covers aside and stood from the bed and began her usual routine.

Once dressed for work, she stood watching her coffee maker in silence until she heard the familiar beep. Once her cup of coffee was poured she was out the door and headed to work.

For a twenty something, almost thirty something, living in Los Angeles, California should've been a dream. Here she was in the city of Hollywood celebrities, and yet she felt out of place. If she was smart she would just pack up and leave, but at this time in her life it just wasn't an option. She had a stable job and an apartment and so she would do like most adults her age did. and that was just suck it up.

Every morning Katie road the bus to work and then she would stand outside of the building, look up to the sign that hovered above that read, "LA Now" and sigh. She was a journalist, at least that's what she felt in her heart. Ever since she was a little girl all she wanted to do was report the news. Some how she ended up here as a nightclub reviewer. It was nothing more than her sitting in the corner of some club, watching people dance badly and get drunk and then her writing a overly simplistic review of how "Banging" the club was. She once tried to spice it up and actually used a word one wouldn't hear on MTV and almost got fired. Katie took another deep breath before walking through the double doors of the bustling building. She tossed her empty cup of coffee into a nearby bin before stepping onto the elevator.

Per elevator etiquette Katie would usually keep her eyes down to her phone as she read over schedule for the day. A loud whistle made her inwardly groan before lifting her eyes to see the familiar face of her daily disdain.

"Well if it isn't clubbin Kathy" Arthur Toll said as he stepped onto the elevator, wearing his usual rapie smile. Arthur was the typical good looking, self absorbed ass who believe he was just entitled to everything he wanted. Katie was glad she was immune to his bullshit and never entertainied him.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Troll" Katie replied pronouncing his last name incorrectly on purpose.

"It's Toll, just like the hundreds of other times" Arthur replied slipping his hands into his pockets, a move that always made Katie gag, simply of the thought of what he was touching in there.

"And it's Katie, like the hundreds of times I've told you" Katie replied looking up to the numbers above the door, praying for some sort of time warp that will have her to her floor at any second.

"So when are you going to stop being a prude and let me take you out?" Arthur asked and to anyone other than Katie that would've been offensive, but after a year on this job, she was practically expecting it everyday.

"When you grow a second penis and find a way to surgically remove your mouth" Katie replied with a smile as she glanced over to man. The elevator dinged and Katie thanked a couple of people above before almost skipping out of there.

"I will not give up clubbin Kathy!" Arthur called but Katie simply ignored him. She found her desk in her small cubicle just as she left it. She huffed before plopping down in her seat.

"What are you huffing at back there?" a voice asked and Katie turned to see the only person in the building she actually looked forward to seeing.

"Oh you know Steph, realizing my life is a modern day version of Groundhog day" Katie said with a chuckle. The confused look on her twenty year old friend's face turned the chuckle into a full on laugh. "It's a movie" the confusion was still there. "With Bill Murray"

"The guy from Zombieland?" Steph asked and Katie simply nodded. Steph really did make her feel old sometimes.

"I just meant that I'm starting to get bored with my same old life" Katie sighed before turning back and leaning on her desk. "Which is strange seeing as all I wanted for like ever was a boring life" her mind drifted to memories she put out of her head or at least tried.

"Well I have a little excitement for you" Steph said and Katie turned back to her. "Boss told me to send you to his office as soon as you got in."

"And this day just gets better and better" Katie said standing to her feet and smoothing out her skirt. "First I get hit on by the Troll and now I get to have a pow wow with the perv of the century."

"Well at least there's an upside" Steph replied and Katie looked over to her. "I don't know what it is, but I'm sure there's one" Katie smiled with a shake of her head before heading down the hall to the Editor in Chief's office. First she stopped by the man's secretary's desk whose modest look of a long sleeve blouse and pants, with her hair pull back into a bun looked simply pitiful. Katie felt sorry for the woman who had to work directly for the pig that was their boss everyday. She hoped dressing like an Amish woman really did help dissuade the man's advances. It also made Katie inwardly swear at herself for wearing her pencil skirt that she loved, but was sort of tight.

"Hey Maggs, I think the boss wants to see me?" Katie said and the woman lifted her head and nodded.

"Yeah, go in Katie, I'll tell him you're here" Maggie replied watching Katie turn and head into the man's office. Katie walked into the office immediately hit with the awful smell of the cigar the man was smoking.

"Doesn't that go against the no smoking policy?" Katie asked walking inside the office. The man simply smirked his eyes trailing over her in a way that always made her want to puke. "You wanted to see me Mick?"

"Yeah, close the door" Mickey Bronstein replied. Katie simply opened the door as wide as she could before walking over and taking a seat. "Fair enough, it's probably come to that now"

"It has" Katie said simply. "What do you want?"

"Where has respect for the boss gone?" Mickey asked placing his cigar in the astray. "I mean you people talk to me like I'm some bum on the street"

"Well you harass more the half the women here, you're a little bit racists, sexist, ageist and you smoke those awful cigars that smell up the entire floor" replied Katie. "We talk to you like this simply because we can without fear of any kind of repercussions. I mean you can't say anything because you're this close to a sexual harassment law suit on a daily basis"

"Touche" Mickey replied before tossing a manilla folder across his desk to Katie.

"What is this?" Katie asked grabbing her folder and opening it.

"Your new assignment" Mickey said picking up the nub of a cigar and placing it in the corner of his mouth.

"What the hell is this?" Katie asked reading some club bio Mickey had printed out. "Fangtasia, it sounds like a place I would go if I had daddy issues" she looked back up to him. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because you're going to go there and review the club" Mickey said matter of factly.

"You know where we work right?" Katie asked sitting the folder down. "LA Now, which sort of means we report simply of what's happening in Hollywood. My part of that unfortunately is reviewing these cesspools deemed night clubs"

"And that seems to be the unfortunate part of a lot of magazines" Mick replied. "There's only so many clubs in California-"

"There is an endless amount of clubs in California" Katie interrupted. "A new one is born every hour, so don't pull that crap with me"

"That may be so, but a dozen magazine reporting on the same club doesn't bring in sales. So the big wigs wanted an idea and I came up with this." replied Mickey pointing to the folder. "We're branching out, reporting nationally."

"But this is-" she picked up the folder and opened it. "Fangtasia is in Shreveport Louisiana, what person in California will give a rats right ball about some club in Louisiana?"

"That's what we want to change" Mickey said. "We want to be the go to magazine for your club destinations where ever you may be. From the hottest joints in New York, to the hopping juke joints down in Podunk Alabama."

"But why me?" Katie whined dropping the folder on his desk. "I thought I was doing a good job here?"

"You are, which is why I want you to be the one to do our first article" Mickey said. "And don't worry, a lot of people will be looking at this and if you do your job right, maybe I can talk to some people over at the Times about getting you a position over there"

"You just said I was good at my job, why would you do that?" Katie asked.

"Maybe I'm a nice guy underneath all these layers" Mickey replied with a slight smile.

"I swear if you're lying I'll be the first person to actually go through with a law suit against you" Katie said picking up the folder.

"What have I ever done to you?" Mickey asked and Katie lifted her eyes giving him a look. "What, the Christmas Party, I was just fooling around"

"Yeah, I guess I never heard that "Want me to jingle your bells?" joke" Katie replied looking back down to the folder. "So what now?"

"Well since this does have to be impeccable, which I doubt won't be a problem for you, you're going to have a month to write the best damn review you can squeeze out of those tiny fingers" Mickey replied.

"I doubt it takes that long" Katie said skimming the bio. "Does this...Eric Northman guy know I'm coming?" she looked back up to Mickey who simply shook his head. "Good. So when do I leave?"

"Tonight" Mickey replied and Katie's eyes widened. "Look I want you on this. This is my ass and your ass"

"How is this my ass?" Katie asked.

"Because I'm the only thing keeping this ship afloat. If I'm gone, this whole magazine is gone" Mickey replied. "You leave tonight, I'll have a plane ticket waiting for you at the airport. There's already arrangements for where you'll stay. We rented you a house not too far from the club and there will be a car waiting for you as soon as you step off the plane"

"So that's it?" Katie asked and Mickey simply nodded. "Does the recent missing persons and mutilated bodies that have been happening all over Louisiana not matter"

"You're a very capable woman, which I learned at the Christmas party." Mickey shuttered slightly at the thought. "Doesn't matter how many times I've been tased, it still hurts like a bitch"

"I'm glad the company cares so much about my safety" she replied standing to her feet. "Look I'll probably need a week tops and when I come back you are going to make that call"

"Hey you have my word" Mickey said gaining another exasperated look. "Fine you can have the heart of my first born" Katie closed her eyes and shook her head. "What?"

"Just don't say stuff like that, it's weird" Katie replied opening her eyes. "You make that call or I come back here and bury you" She slipped the folder under her arm and turned to walk out.

"You won't regret it!" Mickey called after her.

"It's too late for that!" Katie called back already halfway down the hall. She walked back to her desk and began packing up her things.

"You're leaving?" Steph asked. "Please tell me you didn't quit. You're the only person here that doesn't make me want to go on a killing spree" Katie chuckled turning back to the woman.

"Unfortunately I'm still employed here, I've just been assigned to some out of town assignment" Katie replied.

"Out of town, but you're an LA club reviewer, I thought that meant you review LA clubs?" Steph asked.

"My thoughts exactly, but apparently the magazine's struggling to stay above water and this whole national expansion thing is a last attempt to stay alive"

"So where are you going?"

"Some place call Fangtasia" Katie said slipping the folder into her bag. "It's in Shreveport Louisiana"

"Oh" the woman said, her tone full of pity. "I'm so sorry sweetie, but hey maybe this was that bright side you were looking for"

"I doubt it." Katie said. "Look I'm going to be gone for like a week, could you check in with Pebbles"

"Sure" Steph replied as Katie headed back toward the elevators. "You better bring me back something good!" Katie simply waved a hand before stepping into the elevator. The moment the elevator doors closed, Katie dropped her head.

"This is not good" she muttered to herself. Out of all the places she could've been assigned, she just had to go to Louisiana. The moment she arrived back to her apartment and began packing, there was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that was tell her this was a bad idea. That going to Shreveport would only ruin the life she was trying to have. Katie was torn from her thoughts by the news playing in the background.

"T_hat makes six missing person in the course of a month in Louisiana which seems like a lot to us, but seems to be an all time low for the state"_ Katie leaned against the door frame as she watched the pictures of the missing men and women appear on the screen. "_The crime rate has gotten so high that all media outlets have been prohibited from going to the state in an attempt to investigate what has been happening. Right now all we have is the information passed from local news outlets and we will continue reporting them as they come in_" Katie shook her head before picking up the remote and turning off the television.

It was probably a sign that she shouldn't do this, but this could be the opportunity to do what she's always wanted. To report actual news events.

"You can do this, you just have to be careful" she muttered to herself before turning and walking back into her bedroom to finish packing.

Her ticket was waiting for her just as Mickey said. She wasn't looking forward to her ride in coach, but knew there was a sleeping pill with her name on it waiting for her. She took a seat and waited for her flight to be called. As she sat there she let her eyes roam over the hectic airport before her eyes settled on the man reading a newspaper across from her. She tilted her head to see a picture of the latest murder victim from Louisiana. She remembered reading about the puncture holes in the person's neck and the person being drained of blood. Everyone around US was deeming them the work of some sort of satanic cult or some crazy serial killer, but she knew better. She wish she didn't. Katie wished she could be as ignorant to what was happening as the rest of the world, but whenever she saw the articles or listened to the stories of these victims, she wasn't at a loss wondering what kind of person could do these things. She knew it wasn't a person at all.

_"Flight 056 to Shreveport Louisiana, now boarding"_

"I guess this is it" Katie muttered as she stood to her feet. She still heard that nagging voice in her head telling her to just get out while she still had a chance. "It's just a week, you write the article and then you came back" she took a deep breath before turning and heading to board.

Once on the plane she took her sleeping pill which she hoped would have her out for the majority of the flight. She looked out of the window as she waited for take off.

"Crazy isn't it?" a voice said from beside her and she turned to see an older gentleman looking over to her reading the same newspaper she'd seen before. "This is happening and no one has any idea why"

"Yeah it's crazy" Katie replied before turning to look out the window. It was crazy, but she wouldn't say no one knew what was happening. A lot of people knew and she wished she wasn't one of them. She soon started to feel the subtle affects of her pill and let it run it course. This would probably be the last good sleep she had before she was thrust into the belly of the beast which was Shreveport Louisiana.

* * *

**A/N: This story definitely as potential. I'm sure there's a lot of questions you want answered, and I'll answer them if this is something you guys want to read. Like I said, this was something that I just wrote, so I don't have anything planned, but I'll keep at it if you guys want. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know first chapters are a little iffy sometimes and I also know that the who OC in the TB universe has been done to death (pun intended), but I think I could take a whack at it and at least make it a little bit entertaining, and so I decided that even though I didn't get that many interested readers responses, I would write at least one more chapter, just so you could get a feel about where this story was going.**

* * *

_The familiar sweet scent that blew past as Katie sat in her mother's rose garden seemed to calm her. It had been one week since her mother's funeral and she believed that her life would be spent crying, but when she sat in this garden all sorrow seemed to just go away. She inhaled deeply a content smile coming to her lips before bringing her cup a tea up for a sip. In this moment she was ok, that was until someone cleared their throat. Katie turned her head and let out a frustrated sigh. _

"_Now is not the time" Katie said standing to her feet and trying to move past the man into the house, but he blocked her. "Victor, move out of my way, I told you now was not the time" _

"_When will be the time Katherine?" Victor asked. "Time is of the essence and I need to know your decision right now before the next blood moon." Katie attempted to move around him, but he caught her arm. _

"_You know what, fine!" She snapped snatching her arm from his grasp and throwing her mug of tea to the ground causing it to shatter. "You want to do this, just days after I bury my mother, then fine. The answer is no. It was no when my mother asked and it's a hell no right now!" she moved around him and stormed into the house only to find that Victor didn't come alone. There standing in her living room was his wife Madeline, his sister Elena, and his son Jacob. "What is this?" Victor grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. _

"_Rejecting this is not an option, rejecting who you are will only create enemies you're not even close enough to handle. You need us." _

"_I actually think it's the other way around" Katie quipped once again snatching her arm from his grasp. "My mother taught me a lot before she died and one of those things is what can happen when you tangle yourself up with the likes of you" _

"_And what do you think will happen to you?" Victor asked angrily. "You think they will just let you go. It doesn't work like that. They get what they want or bad things happen." _

"_I guess bad things are about to happen because my answer is still no" Katie replied glaring over to the man. "Now get out of my house!" _

"_That's not happening" Madeline said and Katie turned to the woman. "There is a way things are done and if this is the course of action that you're going to choose to take, then you're going to have to go to the council." _

"_And if I refuse?" Katie asked. _

"_Well I guess you'll find out when you refuse" The woman countered. Katie let her eyes move over their faces noting the looks of determination that they each wore. "Make this easy on yourself Katherine." _

"_I've never been one to do anything easy" Katie replied her fist clenched at her side. _

A hand touched Katie's arm and almost instinctively her hand shot up wrapping around the culprit's neck. Her eyes snapped open and she suddenly realized what she was doing and dropped her hand.

"I'm so sorry" Katie said to the flight attendant who looked utterly terrified at the moment. "I was-" Katie shook her head. "Nightmare I guess."

"It's-" The flight attendant took a step back as she held her neck. "It's fine, I was trying to wake you because we've landed" Katie's eyes looked over the plane to see it completely empty.

"Oh" She said standing to her feet causing the attendant to step back even more. "I'm sorry" Katie simply stepped out into the aisle and quickly made her way out of the plane. Once inside the airport she quickly retrieved her bag and made her way to the car rental station. As soon as the keys were in her hand, Katie almost ran out of the airport immediately hit with the humid Louisiana heat. The sun was still sitting high in the sky blazing for it to be the middle of the day. "This is perfect" she mumbled as she slid on her sunglasses. She followed the directions she was given to her car and once she found it she almost let out the longest string of curses anyone had ever heard. There sitting waiting for her was a beat up old red Toyota Corrola that looked like it was seconds away from a heart attack. "I see no expenses were spared on my account" Katie tossed her luggage in the trunk and stepped inside of the car. "What is that smell?" she muttered as a rancid smell passed through her nose. "This better be worth it" she cranked the engine and sped out of the parking lot.

Katie was the epitome of a lost soul as she drove around in search of the house she'd be staying. She knew she'd been driving for house, probably getting herself even more lost. Soon the sun had gone down and Katie had had enough and was finally going to ask for directions. She spotted a gas station and pulled into the lot before hopping out and going inside. The bell on the door rang as Katie stepped inside only to find the place empty. The lights were on and the open sign was still flashing in the door. She walked over to the counter and rang the bell.

"Hello!" She called hoping someone would just appear. She was tired and jet lagged and really just wanted to get into bed. "Is anybody here!" she heard a noise from behind her and quickly turned to see the open door of what looked to be a storage room. "Hello, is somebody here, I could use some help!"

"And how can I help you?" A voice said startling her. She turned to see a man standing behind the counter who wasn't there before. Katie stared at the man for a moment before simply turning and heading for the door. Soon another man seemed to appear right in front of the door, his mouth was covered in blood as fangs protruded from his mouth.

"That's not nice, we really want to help you good looking" the vampire says. Katie turns to see the other now standing behind her. Both ease in closer to her and she drops her hands to her sides clenching her fist. She knew this was it. That moment she'd been dreading, but it would seem there was still luck on her side. Both vampires stop suddenly and lift their heads slightly before speeding out of the gas station.

"What the hell was that?" Katie asked slightly confused as she looked around to see if they were really gone. She simply shook her head before continuing out of the gas station and quickly getting into her car. It would seem that the luck she had must have ran out, because the moment she stuck the key in the ignition and tried starting the car, the sound of the engine refusing to turn over hit her ears. "Don't do this to me" she tried again, but it was no use. The piece of crap car just crapped out on her. She stepped out of the car and walked to stand in front of it. Her fingers twitched at her side as an internal battle seemed to be playing out in her head. It could be simple she thought, she could just make all her troubles go away, but in the process create even more. And so Katie decided to just grab her suit case from the trunk and walk.

Driving when lost sucked majorly, but walking when lost was just horrible. Katie walked, her feet aching as she dragged her suit case behind her. She held up her cell phone trying to read the GPS, but her battery was almost drained. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the howling of what sounded like a wolf.

"Oh, perfect" she muttered just as her cell phone powered itself off. "Just perfect" The sound of an engine caused her ears to perk up and she quickly turned to see headlights heading toward her. There were dozens of thoughts running through her head at the moment. The main one was how stupid it would be to hitchhike in a town where the mortality rate was higher than the voting population. Katie simply shook her head before turning and continuing her trek hoping the car would just pass her. Her hopes were crushed as she heard the sound of the car slowing down.

"It's a little late to be taking a stroll down the highway, don't you think?" A voice said as Katie continued walking. She felt a familiar chill down her spine and knew that thing talking to her wasn't human. "Dangerous for someone like yourself"

"Dangerous for a lot of people" Katie replied. "Thanks for your concern Mr. Concerned Citizen, but I'm good" She didn't even bother to look at him as he paced his car to move along side her. "You can continue on with your life." She heard him chuckle.

"Well suit your self" he said and before Katie knew it all she could see was the back of red corvette speeding away.

"The day is not even over and I've seen more dead people than Haley Joel Osment" Katie said as she walked aimlessly. It wasn't until she spotted a police station that she finally let out a sigh of relief. The police called a tow truck to pick up her car while on of the deputies volunteered to drive her to the house.

"You have no idea how lucky you are" The deputy said glancing over to her. "I swear if you heard the calls that come into us, you wouldn't even want to step out of your house" the man shook his head. "Ever since those damn vampires came out of their coffins, I swear Louisiana has been nothing but a slaughterhouse."

"Well the whole state isn't over run by the things so maybe someone's doing something right" Katie replied.

"That's because we were promised that this whole thing would be done peacefully" The deputy replied and Katie looked over to him confused. "There's even a signed document by the AVL of that"

"AVL?"

"American Vampire Association" The deputy replied. "They deal with all things vampires, so you can assume this whole multiple murders is making their heads spin" the man shook his head. "I don't care really, I just want them to do something."

"How do you know they haven't?" Katie asked.

"Because a call just came in a few minutes before you walked in" he replied. "Another one. Everything was so much better before these monsters came out of the coffins" And with that the rest of the drive was quiet until they pulled up in front of a rickety old house. "Huh, I knew that address was familiar. You're staying at the old lake house"

"I think this should be called the elderly lake house" Katie said as she stepped out of the car. "Mick is so dead when I see him"

"It's not that bad" the deputy said stepping out of the car as well. "Look I have to go, they're probably gonna need all the help they can get on this thing"

"Right" Katie turned and gave the man a tired smile. "Thanks for your help, you saved my life"

"Well it's my job" The man said with a slight tip of his hat. He walked around the back to pull Katie's luggage from the trunk.

"Do you know any good places I could get some food?" Katie asked and the man nodded as he handed her the suitcase.

"Louisiana is the food center of the world!" the man said with a slight chuckle. He walked around his car and reached into the glove compartment pulling out a restaurant menu. "Here, I believe this place will deliver out here." he handed Katie the menu. "You gotta try their crawfish, it's the best you'll ever have. And when you get the lay of the land there's this place called Merlotte's in the next town over, Bon Temps. Best burger you'll eat in your life."

"Well I'll keep that in mind" Katie said with a nod. "Thanks again for you help"

"No problem at all ma'am" The deputy replied before walking around and getting into his car. Katie stood there and watched as he pulled off leaving her at the run down house by the lake. She turned back to the house and let out a long sigh.

It wasn't what she expected, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Katie walked inside dropping her suitcase to the floor.

"Home sweet home I guess" Katie muttered before walking in search of a light switch. She found a lamp and flipped on the light, thankful that the electricity actually worked. With the little light that shone around the place, Katie could see that the place hadn't been lived in for a while. A thick film of dusk covered nearly everything in the house. She walked further into the house flicking on more lights. "Just one week" she said to herself in an effort to keep herself calm. She climbed up the stairs and found a bed room. She flick on the light to yet another dirty room, but there was a bed. "Hello lover" she moaned as she grabbed the blanket from the bed and tossed it to the floor. She plugged her cell phone into it's charger before climbing onto the bed and falling asleep almost immediately.

_Was she prepared for what was about to happen? Probably not, but she wasn't backing down. Katie stood in the middle of a group of people who looked as if they were ready to tear her apart with any wrong move. _

"_Be smart Katherine" Victor warned and Katie swiftly turned to face him. "Your mother knew how important this was. This is your heritage and turning your back on it, on us is a slap in the face to your mother and all of your ancestors" _

"_You might as well save your breath" Katie growled. "I'm not coming with you, so make your move or get out" _

"_Well you heard her honey" Madeline said before taking a step toward the woman. _

Katie's eyes snapped open at the sound of her phone ringing. She laid there for a moment, the remnants of her dream still fresh on her mind. She hadn't dreamed of those moments in such a long time and wondered why they were making an appearance now. Her phone rang again and Katie quickly grabbed it and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"_Finally, I've been trying you all day"_ Steph's said. "I_ thought something had happened you in that podunk town"_

"No, I'm fine" Katie replied rubbing her eyes as she sat up from the bed. She looked to the window to see the sun shining brightly.

"_So how was the first day?"_ Steph asked.

"It was..." Katie's mind traveled the night before and all of it's random craziness. "You know, uneventful"

"_Well just write your review and come back"_ Steph replied. _"I worry about you there"_

"Don't" Katie replied as she stood from the bed stretching out her sore muscles. "I'll be fine. I'll probably go to the club tonight and tomorrow, write up the review and be back home by Friday"

"_Well that's good to hear._" Steph said. "_Look I got to go, Troll's headed my way and I need to lose him_" and with that the woman hung up the phone.

Katie just shook her head before wandering around the house. It's looked different in the sunlight. Nice actually. With a little soap and water the place could actually be decent. She found the kitchen and looked over to the refrigerator. She walked over and opened it only to find a box of baking soda.

"I know you're hungry"Katie said down to her grumbling stomach. "We need food" she stood up straight and looked around the kitchen, her eyes catching sight of something out the window. She walked over and and gasped slightly. The lake looked beautiful. It wasn't blue or perfect, but it was real. She stepped out the back door and walked through the yard to the pier that overlooked the lake. This place reminded her of her mother's garden. That serenity that she once felt seemed to be in the air. "I miss you mom" she whispered in the wind before turning and heading back to the house.

The rest of her day was spent lounging around the house, just getting to know the place. She ordered some food and with her new found energy began cleaning the place. By the time she was done it looked like a different house. She collapsed on the couch and let her head fall back and before she knew it, she was drifting off.

"_No!" Jacob yelled and everyone in the room froze before turning to him. "The outcome will not be favorable" he turned to Katie and tilted his head. "We're underestimating her" _

"_I highly doubt that" Madeline said looking over Katie in mild disgust. "If she wants to cross us then there will be consequences" _

"_And you will die" Jacob said looking over to his mother. "This is not when this fight happens" and with that the young man turned and headed for the door. Madeline, Elena and Victor stayed in place for a few moments before Elena silently turned and left as well. _

"_This isn't over" Victor snarled as he walked up to Katie getting dangerously close. "We will leave and you will think you're safe, but you're not. They won't let you. We won't let you." _

"_Well I'm ready whenever you are Vick" Katie said with a slight smirk she knew only annoyed man. She heard the man growl under his breath before turning and walking out the door. Katie turned back to Madeline who still looked as if she wanted to scratch her eyes out. "Your ride's leaving" _

"_You should be careful Katherine" Madeline said taking a step toward the woman. "We wouldn't want you to share the same fate as your mother" and with that the woman left leaving Katie with her hurtful words. _

Her phone's alarm clock snapped Katie back to consciousness. She cleared her throat and sat up grabbing her phone and looking at the time.

"I guess it's time to boogie" Katie muttered before standing to her feet and heading upstairs to change and to call her a taxi. Katie was a very rare woman who really didn't take long to get ready to go out, especially not with her job. She usually chose something that didn't draw too much attention. Even though she hated her job she stilled wanted to do it right and effective and she couldn't give a good review if people knew who she was. She made that mistake once and people were in her face left to right trying to please her. It was very annoying. So tonight Katie chose a pair of black jeans with a white tank top, paired with a fitted leather jacket. She grabbed her clutch purse before heading back down the stairs. A honking horn from outside signaled that her cab was there. "Perfect timing" she switched off the lights and headed out.

"Where to miss?" the driver asked.

"Uh, place called Fangtasia" Katie replied and she could've sworn she saw the man's expression change. "Do you know it?"

"Yeah" the man said his voice now more gruff. Without another word the man pulled off. Mick was right, the club wasn't too far from the house. She arrived in just a few minutes. Katie reached into her bag and pulled out a bill before handing it to the driver who took it forcefully. Confused, Katie shook her her head before stepping out of the car. "Fangbanger" she heard him mutter. She turned about to say something, but decided to just let it go and walk away.

On the outside Fangtasia looked like every other club she'd been too. There was music blaring that could be heard from outside, a long line people waiting to get in.

"Loud and crowded" Katie muttered. "This is going to be great" she walked to the end of the line and waited patiently.

"So what do you think it's like?" Katie heard a voice from behind her say. She glanced back quickly to see two young girl who didn't look like they were even out of high school dressed way too suggestively.

"Well Beth said she did it once and it was like nothing she'd ever felt before" the other girl said. "I mean I'm sure it hurts, but she says it'll pass"

"It just seems weird to ask someone to do that to you"

"You don't ask, you wait until they come up to you. At least that's what Beth says."

"I can't believe we're doing this. My parents would kill me if they knew I was here"

Katie shook her head as she listened to the girls. When she was their age, the last place she wanted to go was a club. Her mother wasn't someone you could get past and so Katie simply never tried anything. The wait wasn't as long as she expected which she made a mental note to include in her review. She was the next person in line and as soon as she came face to face with the bouncer her skin began to crawl.

"Of course" Katie sighed under her breath as she looked over the tall blonde woman who was undoubtedly a vampire.

"ID please" The blonde says in a bored tone. Katie recognized this often with club employees. They were often less enthused about the place as the club goers. To them it was just a job. Katie dug in her clutch and pulled out her ID before handing it to the woman. The woman looked down to the ID before glancing back up to Katie.

"Is there a problem?" Katie asked suddenly noticing that this process didn't usually take this long. She knew a lot of young people probably tried to sneak in, but her age showed. Anyone could tell she wasn't a teenager.

"No, not at all Hollywood" the woman said handing the ID back to Katie and stepping aside to let her in. Katie noticed the smirk the woman now wore as she passed her. She simply shook it off as she walked into what she could only describe as a twentieth version of Sodom and Gomorrah. The place was filled with people and vampires all dancing and grinding to the blaring music. It was something she'd never seen before. Humans and vampires together as if it weren't a big deal. Katie was bumped in the shoulder and figured standing in front of the door wasn't the best place to stare. She squeezed through the crowd hoping to find a corner or far wall to sit. Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the man sitting on a thrown that looked over the club looking down to his cell phone. She figured he must be the owner, Mr. Northman. The bio Mickey gave her didn't have a picture of the guy, but as Katie stood there blatantly staring at the him she had to admit he wasn't bad to look at. His blond hair was short and neat, not a hair out of place. He wore a black wife beater with black washed jeans, a look that fit him well.

"Someone has a complex" Katie muttered and his eyes shot up and for a moment they looked at each other until he simply looked back down to his cell phone. Katie let her eyes wander over the place and realized that she was indeed standing in the middle of vampire bar. She had no idea how that little tidbit would make it into her review. There was an empty table in the corner of the bar and Katie quickly made her way over to it before it was taken. The spot gave her a very good look of the club, but she did notice that Mr. Northman was now out of her line of sight. She shook away the thought because it really didn't matter. She reached into her clutch and pulled out her notepad and pen and wrote a couple of notes before glancing up to the people. The only differing aspect about this club from the others was the whole vampire thing. Other than that it was like every other emo, rock based club she'd been too and so after only a half hour she was bored. After writing a couple of notes about the music and the 'anything is possible' atmosphere, there was nothing else that caught her attention. Soon she found herself spinning a quarter she'd found in her purse on the table.

"I couldn't agree more" a voice said from above her and she looked up to see a young dark haired man smiling down to her. He held two beers in his hand, one of which he sat in front of Katie and the other he held in his hand as he sat across from her. "The whole club scene is getting old and boring." Katie sighed looking back down to her quarter and spinning it again.

"I'm not looking for company" Katie said not even bothering to glance up to the man.

"What are you looking for?" he asked seductively and Katie rolled her eyes. This was yet another annoyance she had to endure with her job. Skeevy guys randomly hitting on her. "Maybe I can help you find it?"

"You know what, maybe you could" Katie said looking up to the man as she slaps the quarter on the table. "How about I look in here and you go look in a very deep deep hole in Kalamazoo. Deal?" he simply chuckled before placing his hand on top of hers.

"You don't mean that" he says his eyes now focused on hers. "I'm who you've been looking for your whole life. Let's just get out of here and go to your place" He didn't blink or bat an eye as he waited for her to comply. She could feel him, inside of her head fighting for control. This was also something new that didn't happen at other clubs. Of course he was a vampire and of course upon impending rejection he would try to glamor her. Katie slipped her hand from under his and began spinning her quarter once again. "How did you-"

"You should probably leave now" Katie muttered not tearing her eyes away from the spinning quarter. "I think it would be better for everyone involved" She heard the screeching of his sliding chair before he stood to his feet and scurried away. "Yep, it's definitely time to call it a night" Katie grabbed her quarter and her purse before standing to her feet. She hated walking in clubs, it was like trying to walk through a herd of oversexed cattle. The door was in her sights when someone bumped her shoulder and it caused a chill to run through her entire body. Katie turned to see one of the young girls from before smiling stupidly at some hairy biker type who wore a leather vest with no shirt. His pale skin revealed his true identity. Katie recognized the feeling of death and was torn as to what to do. "Not your problem Katie" she thought before turning to leave. She only took a couple of steps before she remembered she actually had a conscious. "Shit" she swore before turning back, only this time the girl or her vampire companion were no where in sight. "Shit, shit shit" she began searching furiously for the girl trying to sift her way through the crowds. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of Mr. Northman himself his bored expression changing the moment his eyes see her. "Shit!" Katie says before turning and going back into the crowd simply confusing the vampire who keeps his eyes on her as she moves aimlessly. Katie finally stopped in the center of the club and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath.

"You look familiar" a voice says from behind her and Katie's eyes snap open as she turns to see Mr. Northman standing uncomfortably close to her. "Have we met?" Katie simply waved him off before turning and sifting through the crowd once again. Eric stood there for a moment dumbfounded at this unheard of reaction toward him. Especially by a woman. Curiosity got the best of him and so he followed behind her. She didn't seem to know where she was going, but she was still walking. Katie soon found herself in an area she figured was prohibited to club goers, but she knew this was the way she had to go. Soon she found a door that lead to the outside. Katie found herself in what looked like the back of the club when she heard a blood curdling scream. She took a step forward, but felt a cold hand wrap around her arm. She lifted her head to see Mr. Northman.

"I will handle this" he said his fangs descending instantly before speeding off into the darkness. Katie stood there for a moment before she realized that there was nothing more for her to do. She'd grabbed the attention of way too many people and needed to get the hell out of there. She turned about to walk back into the club when she heard the sound of screaming. The moment she turned around she spotted the young girl running toward her, blood oozing down her neck and covering her clothes.

"It's alright" Katie says holding her hands up and walking toward the woman slowly to not scare her even more. "You're alright, we just need to get you to a hospital" They heard more footsteps and Katie grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her to stand behind her just as the biker vamp appeared, blood covering his mouth. He smiled wickedly as his eyes looked between the two women.

"It must be my birday or suntin?" he said his southern drawl hard to miss. "I get two pretty ladies"

"No you dumb hick" a voice says from behind him and the biker vamp turns to see Mr. Northman. "You do not drink from minors at my bar, now go!"

"Seriously" Katie says despite herself. She knew this was probably one of those moments where she should probably keep quiet, but she just couldn't help herself. He lifts his eyes over to her. "You're just going to let him go? He could leave here and kill the next innocent person that crosses his path"

"That's not my problem" Mr. Northman replies before looking back to the vampire. "Go!" the biker vamp turns back to the girl and Katie and winks. Katie feels the girl trembling behind her.

"I'll see you soon sweetness" he says before turning to speed off.

Katie was a very simple person. She believed that there was a difference between right and wrong and letting this monster leave her would definitely be the wrong thing.

"Wait!" Katie says pulling herself from the young girl. "This isn't over. Trust me" The vampire simply laughs before speeding away.

"That was very heroic of you" Mr. Northman says. "Stupid, but heroic." he looks over to the young girl and takes a step toward her, but Katie moves to block him.

"I think she's had enough vampires for the night, don't you think?" Katie asked and she notices the smirk that graced his lips.

"Fine" he says before walking around the pair toward the door.

"She has a friend!" Katie called and he stopped and looked back to her. "Young and stupid just like her, find her and get her out of your club before you're shut down" he didn't say anything, even thought it looked as if he wanted to. He simply turned and headed back into the club.

Katie turned back to the young girl who was still shaking with fear. Katie looks to her neck.

"It's not too bad" Katie says before looking back to the girl. "You're going to need to clean it really good and bandage it up" the girls simply nods as tears stream down her blood stained cheeks. "Look this is not a place you should come, do you have a car?" the girl nods again. "Alright, we're going to walk around to the front to your car and hopefully he found your friend so you could go" the girl let Katie usher her back around the building where they found her car. Once Katie got the girl into the car, she heard the sound of high heels and looked up to see the girl's friend running over.

"Oh my god Jessie!" the girl said seeing her blood covered friend. "What happened?" Jessie didn't speak as she kept her eyes forward.

"You need to get your friend to a hospital and call her parents, I think she's in shock" Katie says and the girl simply nods before running around the driver's side. "Hey!" the girl looks over to her. "Do not come back here" the girl nods again before getting into the car and speeding off. Katie watched until the lights of the car disappeared into the distance before the sound of arguing caught her attention. she turned to see Mr. Northman arguing with his bouncer, probably about letting two underage teenagers slip into his bar.

"Definitely time to get out of here" Katie says as she snakes her phone from her purse and dials for a cab. "Yes, I need a cab-" she stopped as senses she forgot she had began rearing their ugly head.

"You're still here" a voice says and she turns to see Mr. Northman walking over to her. "I thought for sure you'd be gone, walking along the highway" she turns away from him not saying a word. It's the expression on her face that tells him that something was wrong. He follows her eyes and soon hears a twig break in the distance. His fangs descends once more as he takes a step forward. "Some people never learn" and so he speeds away. Katie stands there for a moment before turning and walking away from the club. Suddenly she feels waiting for a taxi was not the move to make at the moment. Plus the lake house wasn't too far, she could walk. She'd be fine. Her senses told her otherwise as she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"This is it" she said to herself as she stops moving. It would seem like an odd move to anyone else, but to her she knew it was only a matter of time before she was placed in this situation where only one course of action would suffice. She turned around and dropped her clutch to the ground. There was still a part of her screaming to just run away, that what she was about to do would only create more problems, but the logical part of her brain knew that there was only one way she would get back to the lake house tonight. "You can come out now" soon the biker vampire from before sped into sight a couple of feet in front of her. "Was there something I could help you with?" he laughed as he slowly stalked toward her, curious as to why she wasn't cowering away like most humans would do in this situation.

"You said this wasn't ova" he said with a smile so wide she could practically see all of his teeth. "That sounded too much like a threat, and I don't get in the habit of lettin' humans who threaten me just walk away."

"Ok, so that's cool and all, but the truth is this isn't the situation you think it is" Katie said with a slight shrug. "Look just walk or run or hop away because I really don't want to have to hurt you."

"I thought that's exactly what you wanted to do?"

"Yeah well, you know you say things in the heat of the moment" Katie replied. "I was pissed that an evil bastard like yourself would be getting away with hurting that poor girl" she felt a familiar tingle in the tips of her fingers. "Actually I'm still kind of pissed about that"

"And how do you supposed we rectify that?" he asked stalking even closer to her.

"I'm fine with drinking until I forget this night ever happened" Katie says and she can see the smile never wavering from his lips. He was cocky. They all were, really. They figured they were stronger, faster and to some extent smarter and retreating from a fight against a human was simply unheard of. "But I'm guessing that's not something you're into"

"Actually I was thinking about drinking tonight too" he says now standing in front of her. "Care to join me?"

"Get away from me" Katie says her voice taking on a stern tone that simply seemed to amuse the vampire. He liked when the humans were feisty. It made their blood taste that much sweeter.

"I'm sorry" he says taking one last step toward her bringing himself so close that he could feel her warm breath on his cold skin. "What was that?" Katie closed her eyes as a familiar burning under her skin seemed to be growing. This was happening. His hand lifted to touch her neck, but Katie's hand shot up quickly grabbing his hand. "I like it when they fight back" Katie's eyes snap open, and the vampire's eyes widen as he stares up into her eyes that are now a swirling storm of gray.

"I rarely fight actually" Katie says and before she knows it the vampire's entire body erupts in flames. She stands there and watches him burn until there is nothing left but bloodied ash. She closes her eyes and drops her head and stands there silently for a moment. "Fuck, me!" she screams angrily before turning and running off.

Eric moves from his place from behind the trees and walks over to the pile of ash in the middle of the road. He looks up to see her getting further and further away before looking back down to see her discarded purse. He picks it up before sifting through it and finding her ID. "Katherine" he purrs before looking back down to the dead vampire. "Interesting" and with that he turns and heads back to his club.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, so that was kind of interesting, right? We still have more questions that need to be answered. Like the fact that Katie may be a little more than we all thought and the fact that now the one person you probably shouldn't tell a secret to now knows that. Eric Northman will prove to be a very large and annoying obstacle for the quiet life she's been searching for, but soon he won't be the only one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I have no idea where this story is headed, all I have are the words that come to the paper. Hope that's enough. Enjoy!**

* * *

At the moment, Katie's primal instinct was kicking in. She had to survive, and right now that survival was threatened by her own stupidity. She pushed open the door of the lake house, and stormed inside. Her phone was out and pressed to her ear as she almost ran up the stairs.

"Yeah, I need an early flight out of Shreveport, Louisiana" she said pushing open the door to the bedroom. She grabbed her suit case and tossed it onto the bed before grabbing things she'd pulled out and was tossing them back in. "I don't really care where I go, as long as it's out of Shreveport Louisiana." She listened to the agent ramble off a couple of places before interrupting. "The first one, uh what was that Miami, sure. Set that up" The agent needed Katie's credit card information and so Katie turned and looked behind her. "My credit card is right-" she continued looking around the room, before her eyes widened when she remembered where it was. She pulled the phone from her ear and ended the call before tossing it on the bed. "Son of a bitch!" she nearly yelled at the top of her lungs. Her credit card along with her ID was in her purse which she conveniently tossed to the ground to deal with the vampire that was trying to kill her. Going back tonight was not even an option. You don't incinerate a vampire and then return to the scene of the crime. "Morning" she said with a nod. At least in the morning there won't be any more dead people to worry about. She would find her purse, get her flight and be out of Louisiana by the end of the day. Hopefully.

She could barely sleep. Tossing and turning and nightmares just wouldn't let her go. Her last attempt at sleep was interrupted by her cell phone. She opened her eyes and looked over to her phone with worry. Her hand slowly inched toward it before grabbing and bringing it to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"_This is Murrays, I'm calling about your car"_ a voice spoke and Katie sat up.

"Oh, yeah. So what's the damage?" Katie asked.

_"The engine in that thing is shot, I could patch it up but you'll be dead in the water after a couple of days if you don't get a new one"_ the mechanic replied.

"I only need a couple of days" Katie replied. "Plus it's a rental and I'm not putting my money into it. Just do what you have to do to get it started and I'll pay whatever"

_"Alright, it'll be finished by tomorrow morning_" the man said and Katie let out a groan. "_Is there a problem?"_

"I'm leaving as soon as possible and wasn't planning on being here another day"

_"Well I'm sorry, I have to orders parts and that could take a while_" he replied. "_Morning is actually generous"_

"Right, look how about you fix it up and then I'll just call the airport and they can just set up a way to get their piece of crap" Katie said unintentionally harsh. "Look right now that last thing on my mind is this stupid car, so fix it, don't fix it, I really don't care." she hung up the phone and tossed it aside before standing from the bed. "I'm getting the hell out of here" she went about getting dressed before trekking down the road.

Her heart nearly lurched out of her chest as she walked upon the spot the vampire was killed and found that there was nothing there. The entire spot was completely spotless. No sign, speck, or any trace that anything had died there. She looked up to see the club in the distance and wondered if Mr. Northman had something to do with the clean up. "Burned blood and guts doesn't bring in the customers" she muttered as she dropped her head and began searching for her bag. She had to have been searching for almost an hour before the heat was becoming to unbearable.

"Shit!" she kicked at the dirt and looked back over to the club. There probably wouldn't be anyone for her to worry about at the moment and if she didn't get something cold to drink then she was going to die.

She reached for the door, turning the knob only to find it locked. To anyone else a locked door was a sign to turn around and just go about your life, but for Katie a locked door was just an obstacle that needed to be conquered. She looked down to her hand knowing what she could do, knowing just a wave of her hand could solve her problems for the moment.

"What the hell, if I don't get out of here soon then I'm dead anyway" Katie muttered before holding out a hand over the doorknob. "Alohomora" there was a distinctive click and this time when she turned the knob, the door opened. "I did miss that trick" Katie walked into the club. It looked different in the daylight. Ordinary actually. It was amazing what dim lighting and a bunch of dead people could do for a place. She looked over to the bar and figured there had to be a soda or cold bottle of water somewhere. There was a small refrigerator under the bar, and she in fact found a bottle of coke. She twisted the cap and brought it to her lips as she stood up straight, but it never made it to her mouth. All movement stopped as Katie stared into the barrel of a shot gun held by a very twitchy blond.

"I don't know who you are or where you came from, but you broke into the wrong bar" the woman said. "Once my boss wakes up, you're going to be in a shit load of trouble. You have no idea what you're in for"

"I have a pretty good idea" Katie says placing the cap back on the bottle and sitting it on the bar. "Look I was just outside looking for something that I lost here last night and I got hot and needed a drink"

"That's all and dandy, but I know I locked that door" the woman replied. "So how did you get in?" The truth definitely wasn't an option at the moment, and so a lie would have to due, and since she was a writer, it definitely wouldn't be too hard.

"It wasn't" Katie said. "Locked, I promise, the door was opened." the woman looked obviously skeptical. "Look for yourself, it isn't tampered with" the woman held the gun firmly as she turned her head to look to the door.

"Envanesco" Katie muttered softly and suddenly the gun vanished from the woman's hand. The woman turned to her empty hands and shrieked so loud that Katie thought it would break her ear drum. She looked over to Katie and took a couple of steps back.

"Did - did you do that?" her voice now completely filled with fear.

"Do what?" Katie asked reached forward and picking up her bottle and twisting the cap before taking a long gulp of her soda, even letting out sigh of satisfaction. She began looking around the bar. "Do you guys have a lost and found anywhere here?" she looked back to the woman who stood there practically shaking. Katie let out a frustrated sigh before reciting "Quies tu solis occasum" and suddenly the woman's eyes fluttered closed and she fell to the floor with thud. Katie peeked over the bar to see the woman lying contently on her back as she snored loudly. And that's how Katie's search was brought inside. It was a long shot that someone would find a purse and even attempt to return it to it's owner, but at the moment that long shot was Katie's only hope. She found herself searching between every nook and cranny, in every closet and store room, until she found herself in an office. It wasn't big, but it was the only one like it in the entire building and so she assumed that it belonged to Mr. Northman. "Do you have my purse?" she began searching aimlessly, but it wasn't there. It was no where to be found.

Katie plopped down into his large chair and dropped her head on the desk. Her survival was resting on her getting as far away from this place as fast as possible and without an ID or without any credit cards, that was next to impossible. She sat up slightly and looked down to her fingers. She was screwed and it was her own doing.

"Fuck!" she muttered before once again dropping her head to the desk.

_She could feel them right behind her, but if she looked over her shoulder she knew there would be nothing there. But Katie had no doubt they were there, following her. It was as if the hairs on the back of her neck was standing. She was running in the rain, but that didn't slow her down. It couldn't. She burst through the doors of the bus station and looked around for a moment before finding a booking line. Having to stand and wait in line was almost nerve racking. Her eyes kept scanning the crowd around her constantly. They were there. Lots of them. _

"_Miss" a voice said and Katie turned to see it was her turn. She stepped up quickly. _

_"I need the first bus going anywhere" she reached into her pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. "I don't care where it goes, I just need to get out of here." the clerk looked a bit confused and slight suspicious at the woman's odd behavior, but turned to her computer and typed in a few keys. _

"_There's a bus actually boarding in five minutes to Phoenix" the woman said turning back to Katie. _

"_I'll take it" Katie replies. Once the ticket was in her hand Katie knew that she was this close to finally getting away from the life she dreaded. The life forced upon her by her family. The moment she heard her bus called she almost ran out the doors, but stopped only when everything around her seemed to freeze. "No, no, no" she muttered looking around to the unmoving bodies surrounding her. Her eyes stopped on a small child that had spilled an ice cream cone, the ice cream frozen right before it was about to hit the ground. _

"_You thought you could run from us" a familiar voice echoed in the quiet building. "C'mon you're smarter than that Katherine" soon hooded figures appeared in the crowd and they seemed to be almost hovering toward her. "There is no running from who you are." _

"_I know who I am" Katie spoke knowing her voice didn't reveal the strength she wished she had. "And I am nothing like you" without thinking she rose a hand, a light shining so bright it illuminated the entire building. Once the light was gone, so was Katie leaving the hooded figures confused and angry. _

"_Bad girl" the voice hissed. _

She fell asleep. How she fell asleep in the office of the owner of the bar she'd just broken into, she couldn't tell you. But she had fallen asleep. And she hadn't realized it until a familiar chill danced up her spine. Katie lifted her head from the desk and was met with the ice blue eyes of none other than .

"I have no words right now" he said as he tiltled his head as if studying her. "When I awoke and found my bar maid asleep on the floor, the last thing I thought I would see was the culprit asleep in my office." Katie didn't say anything, she simply stood to her feet and moved slowly to the door. He didn't move instantly, he simply watched her as if waiting for something. It was the moment her hand touched the door knob did she feel a slight gust of wind from behind her. She turned around slowly, almost cautiously finding him standing mere inches away from her. Her head lifted slightly to meet his piercing gaze.

"I'm-I'm a-" she found herself stumbling over her words, something that didn't happen too often. "Sorry, I was looking for something and I got turned around and-" she chuckled nervously as she pointed to the desk. "Somehow ended up in your office asleep at your desk." It was a horrible, horrible excuse and she knew it with every word that came out of her mouth. She met his gaze once again waiting for his reaction, but he just looked at her in away that made her even more uncomfortable. "Look, just let me go and you'll never see me again." she turned to open the door.

"What makes you think I would want that Katherine" his voice almost purred and she froze. Hearing her name on his lips made her skin crawl. She turned back to him to see a slight smirk on his face. "Katherine James, born December 17th, 1983, weight-"

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you found my purse?" Katie asked and he simply chuckled before walking around his desk and taking a seat. "How about we be adults here and you return what belongs to me"

"That's not how things work around here" he said and Katie shook her head slightly. "We're a business and every action requires a transaction. You want something from me, you gotta give me something in return." the way he said it made the sexual undertone that much obvious, but he wasn't talking about sex. Not this man, who she figured could probably pull any woman he wanted. Well almost any woman.

"I'm not going to pay you for something that belongs to me" Katie said taking a step forward and Eric noticed the timid act she was pulling before seemed to be slipping away. "Just give it to me and go about your life."

"You don't remember do you?" he asked and Katie looked at him with confusion.

"From last night, yeah. I'm not that old"

"No not last night, but the one before" he said and Katie still wasn't catching on. "You were walking down the road all on your loan some when I stopped and tried to help you" Katie looked at him for a moment before remembering the night the random car appeared beside her.

"You weren't stopping to help me" she said. "You probably saw me walking and thought, "Hey, look a snack" he chuckled once again, but she didn't. "Give me my purse" her tone was serious, and stern. She wasn't playing his games. Not when it seemed time was slipping away from her. In almost a blink of an eyes, Mr. Northman had stood and sped over to her, appearing in her personal space again. She took a step back, but found that the door had blocked her.

"Or what?" he said all playfulness gone from his voice as well. There was the distinctive click from his fangs and she felt her heart ramming in her chest. "Just what do you plan on doing about it?" he stood there and watched her as if waiting for her to react. She just stared into his eyes and that's when she noticed it. Once again he seemed to be studying her. It was as if he wanted her to react. She was about to open her mouth to speak when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her eyes widened and Eric looked down to her in confusion. She lifted her hands and pushed him. It was a strong shove, but he moved out of her way. Just to see what she was doing.

"I have to get out of here now" she said looked around the room for a window. "Why the fuck does this room not have window, what are you like-" she turned to him and realized that yes he was indeed a vampire. "Nevermind, I have to get out of here" she moved to go to the door, but he placed himself in front of it to block it. "Move"

"Why don't you move me" he said and she looked at him with confusion. "You and I both know you can" that's when she realized that Mr. Northman had found out her secret.

"How the fuc-" a knock at the door interrupted her.

"What!" Eric called angrily, not moving from his spot. He remembers specifically asking not to be disturbed.

"You may want to come out here" a female voice spoke. Eric growled before turning and swinging open the door.

"Pam, I thought I told you-"

"I know, but I think you may want to come out here" Pam replied. He looked at her for a moment confused before turning to Katie.

"Do not move from this room" he turned to Pam. "Make sure she doesn't" Pam simply nodded before Eric moved past her out of the office. The woman sauntered inside her eyes trailing over in a way that made Katie think of the Troll.

"You look all kinds of delicious cupcake" Pam hummed stepping toward Katie. Katie backed away until she felt the desk blocking her. The vampire inhaled deeply, a smile coming to her face. "And you smell absolutely heavenly." Pam rose a hand to touch Katie's hair, but found her hand frozen in place. "What the fuck?" she looked from her hand to Katie who didn't look too faze by what was happening. "What the fuck are you?"

"I'm a time bomb right now and if one more person touches me or tries to tell me what to do just one more time, I'm going to blow and that's not something some in your state of life or non life should I say would want. Now I'm going to ask you this once and once only. Move"

"That wasn't a question" Pam replied her fangs clicking out instantly.

"Well you can't say I didn't warn you" Katie replied and Pam heard her mutter something under her breath and before the vampire knew what was happening some sort of invisible force was pulling her from the ground. Katie watched as the woman levitated from the floor to the ceiling where she laid pinned.

"Let me down from here you necromancing bitch!"

"You'll come down soon enough" Katie said walking toward the door out into the hall. She looked down one side, where the music blared and then she turned down the other where she spotted a door. There was no decision, and so Katie ran out the back door.

Eric walked out into the club and didn't see anything immediately uncharacteristic. Humans and vampires were dancing and drinking, much like any other night. It was when his sense perked up that he realized that this wasn't like any other night. His eyes caught the sight of what looked like hooded figures in the mist of the crowd, none moving. He was only take one step before everything around him suddenly stopped moving. In all off his year... hell in all of his centuries, he'd never seen anything like this. One of the hooded figures moved toward him and he found himself standing a bit straighter, ready for anything that was about to happen. The figure stopped right in front of him before reaching up and pulling down his hood to reveal what looked like a human teenager. He smiled wide before holding out a hand toward Eric.

"I'm sorry to have interrupted your business, I'm Samuel" the young man said, but Eric simply kept his eyes on him. Samuel got the hint and dropped his hand back to his side. "We won't inconvenience you anymore than we have to. We're looking for a friend of ours." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a picture. "Have you seen this woman?"Eric looked at the picture and recognized her immediately, but he didn't show it. "Her name is Katherine, she usually just goes by Katie."

"A lot of people pass through my bar" Eric replied. "I haven't found one to hold my attention long enough to memorize their face." he lifted his eyes to the other figures who stood in place. They were strategically spaced out, he figure in case things got a little violent. Eric couldn't help the smirk that came to his face as he looked back down to the young human. "I want no trouble from your kind, but coming here like this will only bring trouble on you" Samuel let out a snort.

"I'm sorry, you were being serious" he said with a slight shake of his head. "The last thing any of us want is trouble." he held up the picture once again. "We know she was here or at least near here, so look at it again." Eric's eyes trailed back to the picture, before he once again shook his head. "Well then I guess we will continue our search else where. Once again sorry for the interruption" the hooded figures turned and headed for the door as Samuel stood there wearing a slight smirk as he looked over Eric as if sizing him up. "It's been a pleasure" and with that the young man turned and left as well. The moment he left , music blared and people were once again dancing as if nothing happened. Eric simply turned and headed back to his office. The moment he opened the door he was hit with the sight of nothing.

"Up here" a voice says and he looks up to the sight of Pam pinned to the ceiling. "Who the fuck did you bring here?"

"I didn't bring her" Eric says walking behind his desk and removing a picture to reveal a safe. He opens it and pulls out Katie's ID and looks at it for only a moment. "She found me." This woman's mystery was growing with every passing second and he found himself wanting nothing more than to figure her out. There was a loud thud from behind him and he only glanced momentarily to see Pam lying on the floor. "Pam I want you to contact our friends at the DMV and check on that information I requested."

"Thanks Eric" Pam grumbled standing to her feet. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"I also want a copy of the surveillance videos from tonight" Eric replied ignoring the woman's whining.

"Eric she's a necromancer" Pam said and Eric looked over to her. "And she wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of here, so tell me why are you trying so hard to seek her out?"

"How many necromancer's have you met Pam?" Eric asked and the woman glazed over trying to recall. "I can assure that I have probably seen more and this woman, this-" he looks down to her picture. "Katherine is different and we could use different." he looks back to Pam. "She's an advantage I would like to have on my side."

"If she doesn't kill you first" Pam muttered before turning and leaving the office.

Eric dropped into his seat as he looked down to Katie's driver's license. And here he was almost getting bored with his non life.

"I guess there really is a bright side to everything" he muttered as he looked down to the picture of the woman he knew would lead him to a whole new kind of excitement.


End file.
